A Toast
by Kan-Can
Summary: One-shot. Raven  a Leaf-nin  is returning home from a mission. What happens when she runs into a certain blonde Akatsuki member on the road?


This is one of the many Christmas one-shots I wrote (I'm a poor child who couldn't buy Christmas presents for everybody so I did what I could. I wrote.) It's to my dear friend Lulu, who is a hard-core Deidara fangirl. I hope you enjoy this as much as she did.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto. Lulu claims she own Deidara, though.

A Toast

For Laura Beth

A lone ninja walked on the dusty trail. The trip from the Stone to the Leaf was long and lonely. Raven had just finished her simple diplomatic mission- delivering a scroll with who-knows-what on it. So she was going to return to Konoha on her own sweet time. She knew that as soon as she arrived home, they would send her off on some other mission- so this return trip was something of a vacation for her.

Raven ambled along, enjoying the scenery and trying to figure out just how long it she could stay before out just how long she could stay our before the village officials decided that she was in trouble and sent a search team after her. She wasn't paying any attention and didn't see the blond until she found herself with her face in a strong, broad chest and felt his hands grip her shoulders to steady her. She jerked away, not used to human contact. "Watch where you're going, jerk!"

The blond laughed, a sparkle in his blue-green eyes. "Me? What where I'm going? Honey, you ran into me." His hands were still on her shoulders.

Raven jerked away. "I'm not your 'honey' and get your hands off me."

His smile faded. "I'm sorry. Look, let's start over." He stuck his hand out to her. "I'm Deidara. I'm sorry we ran into each other there. Let me make it up to you. There's a little tavern about a quarter mile down the road."

"I don't know..." Raven hesitated.

"Which way are your traveling?"

Raven pointed in the direction of Konoha. "That way."

Deidara smiled. "Then the tavern's on your way."

Raven thought for a moment. "Fine. Name's Raven by the way."

"So, Raven. why are you out on this trail? It's kinda out in the middle of nowhere."

She hesitated, unsure if it was safe to reveal her identity as a Leaf-nin. She had removed her headband and any other identifiable nin-items to obscure her occupation from anyone who may be a dangerous rival ninja.

"Oh, I see. You are mysterious- an enigma. That's cool. I like mysteries." His grin became devilish and his tone suggestive. "They're fun to solve..."

The tavern was a small rickety-looking building. Loud music and laughter escaped from the thin walls, as though too much of it was contained in the bar. Raven glanced around, ready to back out. Before she could get away, Deidara grasped her wrist and began to lead her forward.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine if you just stick with me."

"Okay..."

The interior made the same impression ad the exterior: the dim lighting was further darkened by the excess of smoke. The dance floor was lit by flashing lights. People were in every possible corner of the one room. For such a small, run-down place it seemed extremely popular. Deidara pushed his way to the bar, pulling Raven along with him.

:Hey, Nikia. Give me a whiskey."

The bartender glanced up. "Dei! What are you doing back in town?"

Deidara smiled. "Just passing through. Thought I would drop in while I'm around. Besides, I owe Raven here a drink." He turned to her. "What do you want to drink, honey?"

Raven clenched her teeth. "I've already told you- I'm not your honey."

"Right. Sorry. I forgot. Allow me to try again: what o you want to drink, _Raven_?" Extra emphasis on the word Raven.

"Whiskey. Straight."

"Ah. My kind of girl." He turned back to the man at the bar. "Make that two whiskeys."

"No prob." In seconds, Deidara was holding two shot glasses and a bottle of whiskey.

"Let's get a table," he said, pointing to a free one in the corner. Raven walked over to it slowly, almost reluctantly. She still wasn't sure what she was doing here. "Here you go," Deidara said.

Raven sat down in the chair and tossed back the whiskey in one swift motion. She grimaced as the whiskey went down, burning her throat as it went. She immediately felt it warm her belly and spread out to her limbs. She slammed the glass onto the table. "Another." Her voice was husky from the whiskey and she cleared her throat.

Deidara raised one eyebrow and poured another from the bottle in the center of the table. "Can I propose a toast? Before you drink this one too, I mean?"

Raven shot him a glare. "A toast to what exactly?"

"To having a good time. To enjoying life. To us."

Raven raised her glass. "To good times."

Deidara touched his glass to hers. "To us," he said, his voice full of innuendo and meaning.

Raven downed the second drink and slammed the glass back down. "Whatever."

He refilled her shot glass. 

"So, Dei, what were you doing walking down that path in the middle of nowhere?"

Well over an hour had passed since they had had that first drink. The table had more than one empty whiskey bottle on it. The great part was- in Raven's opinion- that she didn't feel drunk at all. She just felt... warm and happy. In the time they been drinking together, somehow Raven had ended up straddling Deidara's lap. She didn't distinctly remember how she had ended up there but at this point she didn't particularly care. Shoe only cared about his warmth and his hands holding her hips. 

He lifted one of his hands and gestured around the room. "Because this is my hometown. I grew up in the Stone. I still come back every once in a while."

"Oh? So where do you live now?"

He smiled and pressed a finger to Raven's lips. "Enough about me. Why were you on that trail?"

She leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "Because I was returning from a mission. I'm a ninja."

"Really? That's interesting." One of his hands slid into her hair, cupping the back of her head and pulling her toward him. "Cause I've always wanted to sleep with a ninja." In just a moment, he had claimed her lips with his. Raven knew that she probably shouldn't be allowing this but... she couldn't find it in herself to care or want to stop. So, she allowed him to continue kissing her. And she continued to enjoy it.

_And who knows_, she thought, _who knows where it might lead_?

THE END

I thought I had best stop her before anything bad happened. I didn't think I could write that for my friend... I would have felt awkward. Anyway, thank for reading. I appreciate your time. 


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